Screen Shot 2015-10-28 at 1.09.39 PMIf you are the CEO, a supervisor, manager, team leader, or have others report to you, you are the boss to someone.

When you are the boss, you have authority. When you have authority, you have power. When you have power, you have impact. Yes, we all have impact. But when you have the power position in a relationship, your words and actions carry a lot of weight.

Good bosses take responsibility for the impact they have. Responsibility is the ability to respond. Some leaders mistake leadership as having to know all the answers and/or telling other people what to do. This is bossery, not leadership.

Good leaders pay attention to more than the bottom line. They pay attention to people, to their reaction to things, to patterns of behavior, to the subtext of what’s said, or not said. Then they use this information to make choices in the best interest of the company.

The relationship between bosses and employees has a huge impact on the bottom line. Many of my clients are suffering at the hand of bosses who are not paying attention.

Whether you are a boss, or have a boss, what works for you? Please share tips, tools, attitudes, whatever you have found beneficial in your work relationships.